Making a Clay Pipe.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 February 1922, Page 4

Making a Clay Pipe.

(By a Pipemaker). LONDON, Dec. 14

The clay pipe industry in Bristol came to an end last week when an oldestablished firm burnt its last kiln. The clay pipe, which dates from the Roman era, has been ousted by the popular cigarette, and the race of pipemakers is nearly extinct. Before the war the clays could be bought as cheaply as 2d a dozen, and most publicans kept a supply to distribute free to their regular patrons.

The pholesale price varied from Is to fis a gross, according to the size and

quality. Few people realise the amount of labour involved in making a cheap clay

pipe. i The large blocks of clay from Devon- , shire are first scraped to remove all . dirt and' then soaked in large pans, j The clay is then beaten on an iron block . until it becomes quite pliable. | Then comes the work at the bench. Small pieces ere rolled by hand into shapes resembling a long tadpole. These are placed together in lots of 16, to the dozen to allow for breakages in the further stages of manufacture. Each roll is perforated with a l°ng, well oiled knitting-needle and fitted into an iron mould. By means of a lever a tool is pressed down into the thick end of the mould to form the howl of the pipe. The shape of the bowl may represent a claw, an acorn, a fish, or the head of a celebrity, or it may he quite plain. Any great event, such as a Jubilee or a Coronation, used to lead to the pioduction of new moulds illustrating the event.

The mould leaves a seam on the pipe, and this has to he removed by a small iron scraper. This process, known as ‘trimming,” is generally done by wo-

men. When the pipes have been dried they are carefully packed into “saggers large round pans made of clay and grit. These are placed in a kiln and baked for nine or ten hours. When cool, the short pipes, known as “cutties,” are ready for smoking. The longer “straws” varying from (Jin to 30in in length, are usually tipped with coloured wax. The old-fashioned method was to place the stem-ends between the bars of a stove and when sufficiently heated rub them with a stick of pipe-wax, generally red. This tedious method has been supplanted by a new one. The stem-ends are now painted with a solution of dissolved wax and methylated spirits.

A type of clay pipe varying in length from 16in to 30in used to he smoked by churchwardens and aldermen at convivial gatherings. The muiw “churchwarden” has clung to pipes o f this length.

The gipsies still remain faithful to the old pipe, and the gipsy woman doubtless gets nn»re pleasure from her stumpy “clay” than her fashionable sister derives from the dainty briars that are now being sold in London shops.